Opening Night: SLES-07

When you’re at the summit, you must be closer to the stars. The Sri Lanka Economic Summit 2007 was no different. The stars were all there, at their brilliant best – Naoko Ishii of World Bank, Richard Vokes of ADB, British High Commissioner Dominick Chilcott, Swiss ambassador Ruth Flint, several members of the diplomatic community, a sprinkling of ministers and a strong delegation from the Confederation of Indian Industry.

At another summit in Heiligendamm, Germany, world leaders were discussing the state of the planet on Wednesday. But – at the Cinnamon Grand – all eyes were riveted on Sri Lanka. It was, as Dhammika Perera, Chairman/ Director General, Board of Investment of Sri Lanka, put it, “the ideal forum for all in the public and private sectors, to pool resources and formulate future strategies”.

Presidential Secretary Lalith Weeratunge delivered a message from President Mahinda Rajapaksa, in which he pointed out that last year’s GDP growth of 7.4% had been the result of careful planning and effective implementation. Even so, he emphasised the need to sustain an average annual growth rate of 8% over the next five years, in order to perceptibly raise living standards.

In sync with the summit’s theme, ‘Spreading the Wings of Development’, Chief Guest Dr Sarath Amunugama, Minister of Enterprise Development & Investment Promotion, stressed the need to develop outlying areas to counter regional imbalances. A focus on infrastructure – roads, power and water – would bring rural areas also into the growth trajectory. Dr Amunugama indicated that, led by the service sector, the Western Province had recorded a growth rate of 12%.

Quoting from a Newsweek article, Dr Amunugama said that India’s middle class of 50 million people would multiply ten-fold by 2012. “Which other island nation can boast of being twenty miles away from the world’s biggest market?” he gloated, indicating that Sri Lanka’s hub status would be a crucial factor during the next decade.

Commending the private sector for being model employers, Dr Amunugama specifically alluded to the positive image that the garment industry had earned by adopting best practices.

Guest Speaker Arun Nanda, Chairman/ Managing Director of Rediffusion DY&R, spoke of the need to brand Sri Lanka for the global market. Such a brand must emanate from the characteristic of its people. A national brand identity could even catalyse renewed patriotism, he opined, in addition to acting as a powerful endorser. Suggesting ‘Gifted Commitment’ as a brand value proposition for Sri Lanka, he said that the country’s cricket team epitomized exactly such a spirit.

Nanda recommended a three-pronged approach to address prevailing negative perceptions. First, restrict our market to South Asia, which is more balanced in its perception of violence. Second, counter-reference the issue – like Ireland did by localizing the plague of terrorism to Belfast. Third, host a major sporting event and “let that experience be your media”.

The summit is being hosted by The Ceylon Chamber of Commerce, in partnership with the Board of Investment of Sri Lanka.